Judge Overturns Minnesota Coverage Ban For Gender Reassignment

A district judge in Minnesota has just overturned a ban on gender reassignment surgery under Medical Assistance (also known as Medicaid). The ban was enacted in 2005, meaning individuals under Medicaid or MinnesotaCare couldn’t access surgical treatment for gender dysphoria.

However, last year the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the state’s Department of Human Services on behalf of 64-year-old transgender man Evan Thomas, who was denied surgery under medical coverage. ACLU legal director Teresa Nelson said, “It says, from the state of Minnesota, ‘Transgender people, you are not worth as much as other people and so we are not going to give you the medically necessary care that we give to other people.’”

This week, Judge William Leary III overturned the ban, ruling it unconstitutional. He wrote, “Minnesota’s fundamental right of privacy is centered, in significant part, on each individual’s authority over his or her body…Laws that burden or impair medical choices violate the fundamental right to privacy.”

This ruling may help pave the way for more beneficial policies and greater transgender recognition. Read more at PinkNews!